1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in a magnetic recording medium having a magnetic thin film recording layer formed by the vapor deposition process, and more particularly to a vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium showing improved durability, and a method of preparation thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Coating type magnetic recording media are widely used. These magnetic recording media use powdered magnetic materials such as magnetic oxide particles and ferromagnetic alloy particles, for example, .gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, Co-doped .gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, Co-doped Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, Berthollide compounds of .gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Fe.sub.3 O.sub.4, CrO.sub.2 or the like. These powdered magnetic materials are dispersed in organic binders such as vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymers, styrene-butadiene copolymers, epoxy resins and polyurethane resins. The dispersions thus obtained are then applied in coats on non-magnetic substrates and dried to form the magnetic recording media. Recently, because of their ability to meet strong demand for high density recording, so-called thin metal film type magnetic recording media using no binders have attracted attention. The magnetic recording media of this type have magnetic recording layers which consist of ferromagnetic metal thin films formed by a vapor deposition process such as vacuum deposition, sputtering and ion plating, or a plating process such as electroplating and electroless plating. Thus various efforts are being made to develop thin metal film type magnetic recording media suitable for practical use.
In the conventional coating type magnetic recording media, metal oxides showing low saturation magnetization are mainly used as the magnetic material. If the thickness of the magnetic material layer on substrate in reduced, the signal output level also drops because of low saturation magnetization. Therefore, it is impossible to reduce the thickness of the magnetic material layer to such an extent as required for the high density recording. In addition, the coating type magnetic recording media are also disadvantageous in that they require complicated production processes and bulky equipment for the recovery of solvents or for pollution control. On the other hand, the thin metal film type magnetic recording media can be provided with extremely thin magnetic films. In this type of magnetic recording media, ferromagnetic metals showing higher saturation magnetization than metal oxides can be formed as thin films on substrates without using non-magnetic materials such as binders. Among the thin metal film type magnetic recording media, a vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium having a magnetic film formed from a magnetic material in vapor phase is advantageous because the magnetic film can be formed at a high speed, because the production process is simple and because the no treatment steps for the disposal of waste liquor are necessary.
However, the vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium involves certain problems, one of which is that concerning the impact and friction strength. That is, the recording layer of the medium is sometimes broken by contact with a magnetic head or a guide pole when moved relative to the magnetic head or the guide pole during the recording, reproducing and erasing of magnetic signals. In addition, when the vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium is exposed to high temperature and humidity for long periods of time, the magnetic layer sometimes peels off or the bond strength decreases due to the corrosive effects of such an environment to such an extent that the magnetic recording medium cannot be used any more.
To solve the above described problem of the vapor deposition type magnetic recording medium, an attempt has been made to apply an overcoat, which has a thickness of about 0.2.mu. and is made of a high-molecular weight material in a film form, onto the recording layer. However, this method is not desirable because the output level of the magnetic signal decreases in the case of high density recording due to the space loss which is caused by the thickness of the overcoat. If the thickness of the overcoat is reduced to minimize the space loss, the magnetic recording medium becomes less durable and cannot satisfactorily be used in practical applications. Further, the effect of the overcoat to provide durability deteriorates when the magnetic recording medium is used over long periods of time.